HMRC now sees your Vinted & eBay sales. Here's what that means.

What actually changed in 2024?

The UK adopted the OECD's Digital Platform Reporting rules (a global standard introduced in 2023 and implemented across Europe). From 1 January 2024, any UK digital marketplace that facilitates sales of goods or services has a legal obligation to collect seller data and report it to HMRC by 31 January of the following year. That includes:

• Vinted, eBay, Etsy, Depop, Amazon (goods)
• Airbnb, Booking.com (accommodation)
• Uber, Deliveroo, Bolt (services)
• Any UK platform where you list things for sale

The first reports covering calendar year 2024 were due by 31 January 2025. HMRC now has a copy of your annual gross sales, number of transactions, and identifying details for every UK seller above a minimum threshold (30 sales or €2,000 / year, roughly).

Does this mean I owe tax?

Not necessarily. The rules changed how HMRC gets your data, not whether you owe tax. The underlying tax rules are the same as before:

• Selling your own used stuff — clothes, furniture, old toys — is generally not taxable, no matter how much you earn. You're just converting assets to cash.
• Trading — buying things to resell, or making things to sell — is taxable once your gross income (total sales before fees) goes over the £1,000 trading allowance in a UK tax year (6 April to 5 April).

The line between “selling my old stuff” and “trading” is what HMRC calls the badges of trade: regularity, intention to make a profit, modification of items, advertising, and so on. If you're buying from charity shops or car boots with the intent to flip, that's trading — no debate.

The £1,000 trading allowance in plain English

If your total reselling sales for the tax year stay under £1,000 (gross — before fees and postage are deducted), you don't need to register for Self Assessment or declare the income at all. Keep records anyway in case your situation changes.

Over £1,000? You need to register with HMRC by 5 October following the end of the tax year in which you crossed the threshold, and file a Self Assessment return by 31 January. You can then claim either:

• The flat £1,000 trading allowance (no need to track expenses), OR
• Your actual allowable expenses (cost of goods, postage, fees, mileage, etc.)

Pick whichever is higher. Most resellers with real inventory costs are better off claiming actual expenses.

What expenses can I claim?

If you're claiming actual expenses rather than the £1,000 allowance, keep records of:

• Cost of goods — what you paid for the items you sold
• Postage and packaging — labels, tape, poly mailers
• Platform and payment fees — eBay FVF, Etsy fees, PayPal, Stripe
• Mileage — 45p/mile for sourcing trips, first 10,000 miles (25p after), under HMRC simplified expenses
• Storage and a portion of home bills if you store stock or work from home
• Subscriptions to reselling tools — Wrenlist, photo apps, label printers

The practical checklist

1. Work out if you're over the threshold. Use our free tax estimator to get a quick verdict.
2. If you're over, register for Self Assessment on gov.uk before 5 October following the end of the tax year.
3. Start tracking every sale and expense from day one of the tax year (6 April). Don't wait until January — recreating 12 months of data is painful.
4. Log sourcing mileage — it's often the biggest expense resellers forget. 500 miles of car boot runs at 45p = £225 off your taxable profit.
5. File your return by 31 January. Online filing, not paper — paper deadline is earlier and easier to miss.
6. Consider an accountant if you're making over ~£10k. Accountants who specialise in sole traders charge £200–500 for a Self Assessment and usually save you more than that in missed deductions.

Don't panic, do prepare

The Digital Platform Reporting rules haven't created new taxes — they've just made it much harder to accidentally (or deliberately) underreport. HMRC already had the power to ask platforms for seller data; now they get it automatically. If you've always been above-board, nothing changes. If you've been casual about it, now's the time to clean up your records.

The good news: with modern tools, tracking is a 30-second task per sale, not an end-of-year panic.